LAWMAKERS OK BILL TO SUSPEND STAR TESTS IN SCHOOLS

They cite need to get ready for Common Core

Ignoring warnings from the federal government, the Legislature on Wednesday sent to Gov. Jerry Brown a bill that would halt public reporting of school performance for up to two years under an overhaul of the state’s standardized-testing system.

The measure, which the governor has said he would sign into law, would immediately suspend the multiple-choice standardized tests called STAR. That system has been used to gauge student learning in California since the late 1990s.

Schools would be allowed to transition to new computerized exams based on the national Common Core academic standards, which emphasize critical thinking over rote memorization. They could start administering those tests on a trial basis next spring, with no scores made public, and could extend that arrangement for another year.

With Democrats leading the effort, the Senate passed the legislation on Tuesday and the Assembly followed a day later. The approvals came despite threats from the nation’s education chief to withhold federal education funds if the measure is implemented.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who is scheduled to visit a school in Chula Vista on Friday, and others object to the abrupt shift that would leave California without public disclosure of school test scores — something mandated by federal law. They said lack of such information would deny schools, parents and community members the chance to consistently monitor students’ and educators’ performance in key subjects.

“A request from California to not measure the achievement of millions of students this year is not something we could approve in good conscience,” Duncan said in a statement. “No one wants to over-test, but if you are going to support all students’ achievement, you need to know how all students are doing.”

Results of the Common Core trial testing wouldn’t be made public because they are designed to gauge the exam’s effectiveness and work out kinks, supporters of the state legislation said. It also would be unfair to hold schools accountable for teaching standards that haven’t been fully implemented yet, said Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, who wrote the measure.

“We’re simply saying we’re not going to test on the old system when we’re actually teaching on the new one,” she said. “We’re going to test on the new one. It is a practice test for all of our students.”

Education officials throughout California, including in San Diego County, largely support the complete shift to the new testing system this year.

Cindy Marten, superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, is so eager to immerse schools in Common Core that she recently volunteered to have the entire district conduct a field test of the new exams next spring. Participating in a trial run of the tests will give teachers a better chance to prepare for the real deal, she said.

“We just want to be tested on what we are teaching,” Marten said. “I want to be creative and figure how we can use the field test this year for the benefit of everyone.”